Attempts have been made to produce low-calorie emulsions containing less than 80% fat which display a good performance with regard to baking, frying and spreading. So far, these attempts have failed, since the above-mentioned product properties are difficult to reconcile with each other.
The effects of reducing the level of fat to a percentage well below 80% can be summarized as follows:
With regard to baking, one observes a decrease in air-uptake in the batter, resulting in a lower specific volume (Sv) of the baked products such as cakes.
As a result of the extra water present in the reduced-fat, w/o emulsions, the cakes become wet and soggy.
With regard to spreading, an increasing tendency of the emulsion to break and to release droplets of free moisture when spread is observed. This is usually associated with an undesirably coarse appearance of the spread emulsion.